Waymo is set to expand its robo-taxi trials onto Phoenix freeways, a move that amplifies the company’s extensive presence in Arizona. Meanwhile, California lawmakers and labor groups are intensifying their calls for fresh regulations surrounding autonomous vehicles.
This expansion onto freeways marks a significant leap for Waymo, following years of rigorous testing on public roads in California and Arizona. Initially, this autonomous freeway travel will be limited to Waymo employees as part of their comprehensive testing phase, the company revealed in a statement on Monday.
“The ability to utilize freeways will be especially important as we scale our operations to other cities. For this reason, we are laser focused on our freeway ride hailing testing,” Waymo said in a blog post.
Waymo emphasized the importance of integrating freeways into their autonomous ride-hailing operations, citing the potential for expedited travel, estimating a 50% reduction in travel time compared to city streets.
While Waymo broadens its driverless operations in Arizona, California faces mounting opposition to robo-taxi adoption. Last week, Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting initiated legislative steps to grant San Francisco police authority to ticket autonomous vehicles and mandate immediate accident reporting.
This move comes in response to limitations revealed by an NBC Bay Area report, highlighting the police’s citation ability only if a supervising safety driver is present in the autonomous vehicle.
In San Francisco, the expansion of Waymo and Cruise faced approval last year, despite controversies. Cruise, the autonomous division of General Motors, suspended its fleet after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked its permit post an incident where a self-driving vehicle collided with a pedestrian.
Adding to the resistance against robotaxis hitting the streets is the Teamsters Union, representing drivers and laborers. The rift between California’s Governor Gavin Newsom and the Teamsters surfaced last year when Newsom vetoed a Teamsters-backed bill seeking a ban on self-driving trucks.
Undeterred, the Teamsters have now aligned with Sacramento leaders, advocating for a bill mandating local ordinances before allowing robo-taxis to commence services. This proposition is poised to challenge the growing influence of autonomous vehicle companies lobbying in Sacramento, aiming to decentralize decision-making away from corporate interests.
“The Teamsters are not going away on this issue,” Peter Finn, vice president of the Teamsters’ western region, told the outlet. “We cannot outsource the decision on how autonomous vehicle technology is being rolled out to big corporations that have their own specific interest, which is profit.”
